"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft... As for me, give me a fixed gear!" --Henri Desgrange, 1902. Of course Desgrange was insane, but we pretend to ignore that part.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Of all things I found the Cannondale specs (1987) on the parts I switched out from the Cannondale (SR900) to my Specialized Allez. When I really started to pay attention to the parts, I was under the impression that someone had spec’d the bike as some dream build; turns out it was true, but the someone was Cannondale. Here is what the spec sheet said on the parts I transferred that were the same;

Hubs......................Campagnolo Nuovo Record

Crankset...............Campagnolo Super Record, 42/52Pedals...................Campagnolo SL, toe clips and strapsBrakes..................Campagnolo Nuovo Record, recessed allen boltHeadset................Campagnolo Nuovo RecordFront Derailleur..Campagnolo Nuovo Record (Since the Allez did not have a braze-on front derailleur mount, I replaced it with a Chorus clamp-on).Parts that were different;

Freewheel............instead of a Suntour New Winner freewheel, there was a Regina Winner.Handlebar............instead of a TTT Tour de France, there was a Cinelli Giro d’ItaliaStem.....................instead of a TTT, there was Cinelli 1ADerailleurs...........instead of a rear Campagnolo Nuovo Record, there was an Athena that replaced with a Chorus.Shifters................instead of Campagnolo Nuovo Record, there were C-Record Syncro II

The inclusion of the C-Record Syncro II shifters and Syncro compatible Athena rear derailleur has me believe that the Cannondale swapped out the parts from was upgraded to Syncro after it was purchased. The bike and other components are 1987, but the Syncro II did not come out until 1989.